A Journal of the Plague Year

Grocery day again today. Less crowding than even last week. Sanitary wipes are back in stock, and even on special. Most of the meat aisle is meat.

Everyone except me seemed to be wearing a face mask. My face mask blew out of my cart on the way. I found it lying on the road on the way back.

Had to get ink for my printer. I need it or I cannot file my tax return. Decided the only way was to order on Amazon and have it delivered. Amazon must be making big money right now.

Scott Adams, who used to be optimistic, is in a dark mood. He says there is little hope of a vaccine. He says we have never developed a successful vaccine for a coronavirus. The common cold is a coronavirus.

So what about treatments? An MD on YouTube says those responsible for approving new medicines are employees of drug companies. They are unlikely to approve a non-patent alternative to one of their own products. This, he thinks, explains the silence around hydroxychloroquine. There’s no money in it.

Adams points out, however, that the relative success of Israel, Germany, and India in dealing with the virus can perhaps be accounted for by the fact that they have large local pharmaceutical industries that produce hydroxychloroquine. They are therefore able to give it to mild cases.

Testing, according to Adams, is a mess. Nevertheless, the UK and US governments both insist they have enough testing ability now to allow for a move to the test and trace strategy.

Many government are putting out a smartphone app that can alert you if someone nearby has tested positive. I believe this idea originated in South Korea, and the ROK has been a model of relative success.

Other measures that ought to be tried: mandatory face masks in public; ultraviolet lights in enclosed spaces; infrared cameras at entrances, to detect anyone running a fever. Then perhaps we could restrict the lockdown to those infected and those most vulnerable.